Midnight State of Mind
by Morganabel
Summary: What happens when Rory's been raised by her grandparents? And after a tragedy occurs she finds herself in a strange town, living with the mother she's never known...
1. Prologue

Lorelai Gilmore-Hayden, known more commonly as Rory, resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose as her maid began to plait her hair. She waited for the torture to be over and the maid dismissed before she let out a heavy sigh. It had been a long day and a longer week. It wasn't a common occurrence that in less than a senight that you lost the grandparents who raised you in a car accident, and then were told you were being shipped from the only home you knew to the mother you didn't know. To a town you didn't want to know.  
  
From Kent, England to Stars Hollows, U.S.A. She had never been there before, only to Hartford, which was only a thirty-minute bus ride, or so she was told. She'd lived in Hartford until she was two, then moved to New York City. At eleven, her grandparents brought her to England for schooling. Now, at sixteen, she was moving yet again.  
  
Lorelai Gilmore, the mother who was taken away from her only a few days after birth. When Lorelai had implied to raise her without her parents involved, Emily and Richard couldn't bear it to lose both their daughter and granddaughter. So they fought Lorelai in court for full custody, saying they could provide a more stable environment than a sixteen-year old girl. Apparently, the courts were inclined to believe them.  
  
Rory knew her grandparents had sent letters throughout the years with pictures and stories of her, but she herself had never seen any letters coming back. So the woman who she was to live with, Rory knew nothing about. It was worse than starting the new school when she had arrived in England.  
  
She was terrified, but she didn't want anyone to know. For the first time in her life, Rory Gilmore-Hayden would be completely alone. Not even her maid would travel with her.  
  
There was nothing worse, in her mind, than entering hell completely blindfolded. 


	2. Chapter One

1 Chapter One  
  
Cute. That was the only word going through Rory's mind as she stepped off the bus and into Stars Hollow. It reminded her of the room Grandma had made up for her when she was five and they had just moved into a new apartment in New York. It was all pink frills and dolls. Everywhere. Rory was convinced that the dolls' eyes were moving all the time so they had been removed. Then there were the frills that attacked her in the middle of the night. They had been the next to go. She finally got it so that her room was dark and studious. Like her grandfather's study that she was so fond of.  
  
She wanted to go back on the bus and back into her nice, dark, studious life. It was safe, and it was predictable and oh, how she loved it dearly. Dark and studious didn't give her nightmares like pink, frills and dolls did.  
  
Rory readjusted the strap on her backpack and picked up the small suitcase that she had brought on the bus. All her other stuff would arrive by movers, hopefully by yesterday if it was all on schedule. It probably wasn't.  
  
She moved through the streets with icy gracefulness taught to her by her governess in England. Rory found Lorelai Gilmore's without any difficulties. Though Rory doubted she could get lost in such a small town.  
  
With great hesitation, she lifted her hand and knocked.  
  
  
  
"Oh, that's her," Lorelai Danes exclaimed at the sound from the door. "Oh, Luke! What am I going to say? Is she going to be like all moody and depressed because of what happened to Richard and Emily? Or is she going to be happy to see me? No, of course she isn't. She doesn't know me. No one likes meeting strangers. I don't like meeting strangers. Of course, that's not to presume that she's anything like me. Though after living under Richard and Emily's thumb there's a great chance that she could be." Another thought occurred to her. "Oh, you don't think she's pregnant, do you?"  
  
"No," Luke Danes answered for her before intercepting the cup of coffee that seven-year-old Ramsay Danes was holding up to his mother. "No. What have I told you about contributing to your mother's addiction? Especially in high stress situations."  
  
Lorelai glared at her husband. "Devil incarnate, you are. Especially to do that to my little hazelnut." She fluffed Ramsay's hair.  
  
"Please do not call the children by coffee flavors," Luke let out a frustrated sigh. "Speaking of which your daughter's going to leave if someone doesn't answer the door soon."  
  
"Right." Lorelai turned towards the door before spinning back. "Do I look okay? I mean I was looking for the stable mother luck that stills says 'I'm a mother but more so I'm your friend' but I think I might too much glitter for that."  
  
"Lorelai," Luke warned.  
  
She nodded before heading towards the door and opening it. "Rory! Hi, come in."  
  
Rory stepped in cautiously, surveying her surroundings; at least it wasn't as cute as the rest of the town. "Hello…mother."  
  
"Yes well, that's me. Dear old mom," Lorelai said awkwardly. "Right here is your stepfather Luke Danes and your half brother Ramsay. You have a sister, Keely, but she's in the shower."  
  
Rory forced a small smile, "Hi."  
  
"Now, you probably had a long trip, right? Of course you did, I'm sure wherever it was that Richard and Emily were living was far away from here. I'll show you to your room," Lorelai said, leading Rory up the stairs.  
  
"Kent."  
  
"Huh?" Lorelai stopped in mid-step.  
  
"Grandma, Grandpa and me were living in Kent. It's in England," Rory clarified.  
  
"Wow that was a long trip then," Lorelai resumed leading her up to her bedroom.  
  
Rory stepped in to the room that could only be described at bare. It had white walls and a hard wood floor and only her bed frame was set up. The rest of her boxes were lined up against the east wall.  
  
"We- Luke and I- didn't set up your room because we didn't know how you'd want it set up. So if you need any help, you know, setting up stuff just give us a holler and Luke, Bert and I will come running."  
  
"Bert?"  
  
"Luke's toolbox…" Lorelai saw Rory's confused look. "I name stuff."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Lorelai clapped her hands together in a nervous gesture. "Yes now, anything else? Oh, your grandparents left you school money. They left it for Chilton, incase anything happened to them…which obviously did, but you don't have to go if you don't want to."  
  
"No, I want to go," Rory told her, she had read the brochures and information on the website on Chilton. Besides, private schools she was use to. Public schools, she was not.  
  
"Well that'll start on Tuesday. I figured three days would be good enough to get settled in. Is it good for you?"  
  
Rory nodded. "It's fine. Is my mattress here?"  
  
"Yeah, it's against the wall," Lorelai told her. "I'll go get Luke and he'll set the bed up for you."  
  
"Okay. Thanks."  
  
"I'll be back in a flash," Lorelai said before disappearing from the room. 


	3. Chapter Two

1 Part Two  
  
  
  
The devil take hair care, Rory thought glumly as she settled into her bus seat for Hartford. Without Sara to plait her hair, she did not know how to braid it, so she finally left it down for lack of anything else to do with it.  
  
The other night, after Luke and her had finished setting up the room so it was livable and his promise, after seeing her boxes of books, to build her some bookcases, she promptly retired. The next morning, however, she found herself to be awoken, not by a well-meaning maid, but by jumping seven and nine year olds. They were otherwise known as her half sister Keely and her half brother Ramsay. She preferred the maid.  
  
Rory shifted restlessly, wondering once more why her grandparents couldn't have left her custody to her father, Christopher. Her father, having meet him on several different occasions, she had a semblance of a relationship with. Lorelai Gilmore, she did not. Perhaps that's why they did it. Or perhaps they were feeling guilty about taking her away from Lorelai all those years ago and thought to make it up to their daughter in their death.  
  
Her thoughts, thankfully, came to an end as the bus stopped in front of Chilton. Readjusting the strap of her bag as she stood, Rory mentally prepared herself for the new school.  
  
*****  
  
"Welcome to Chilton," A suave sounding voice came from beside her, causing Rory to sigh.  
  
"Dear Lord what did I ever do to deserve being greeted by the King of Idiots?" She muttered loud enough for him to understand every word said while she rolled her eyes heavenward. Before turning to meet the newcomer she closed her locker and found herself staring at a blonde male, who was leaning arrogantly against the wall.  
  
"While I do enjoy being referred to a King," He told her. "I do also go by the name Tristan DuGrey."  
  
Rory offered a thin smile before starting her trek down the hall. "Your parents must be proud."  
  
Tristan grinned as he followed her, "Oh but they are. Don't you know that Tristan means handsome and intelligent?"  
  
"I would have guessed dumb and stupid," She threw back at him. "Especially since Tristan is from the Celtic name Tristram, which means sad. Just goes to show you how your parents felt about your arrival in this world."  
  
"Really? Then what does Rory mean?"  
  
"The great, red King, actually," She replied. "It's Gaelic. But my real name is Teutonic, Lorelai, and means destruction."  
  
"Do you spend all your free time reading about the meanings of baby names or something?"  
  
Rory grinned, "No actually, when I was younger I never knew what to name my dolls, so my grandma me a baby name book, and I studied it. I named my dolls according to what I perceived their personality to be. I was six, I was weird, and the information stuck." She shrugged, "Go figure."  
  
Tristan held an amused look in his eye, "So I was thinking…Rory…Lorelai, Red King, whichever you'd prefer to be called—"  
  
"Rory."  
  
"Rory, since you are new and all, and I'm not," Tristan began, throwing an arm over her shoulder. "I was wondering if you'd like to take some time with me so I can introduce you to each of the studies and help you get caught up."  
  
She arched a dubious eyebrow. "You mean you actually go to class?"  
  
"Frequently."  
  
Rory shrugged, "I don't live in Hartford." She sighed. "I live in Stars Hollow and am presently carless."  
  
"I have a car," Tristan told her. "What do you say, Hayden?"  
  
She ducked; leaving the hold his arm had her in. "May as well live up to my name."  
  
"Which one is that?" He inquired.  
  
Rory just winked at him. "Meet me out front after school and I'll give you my address."  
  
"Yes, ma'am," Tristan mock saluted her before disappearing into the crowd.  
  
Rory smiled softly to herself, oh yes she'd live up to her name all right… 


	4. Chapter Three

1 Chapter Three  
  
  
  
So this is what being a bat felt like, Rory thought absently as her head off the edge of her bed and she attempted to plait her hair.  
  
Her fingers felt clumsy as she botched it up once more, which was odd considering that her piano teachers had told her about what graceful hands she had.  
  
"Hey sit up," Came a voice from her doorway.  
  
Rory sat up- more out of shock than obeying.  
  
Lorelai took a step into the room. "Want me to take a shot at that?" She gestured towards Rory's hair.  
  
Her daughter shrugged indifferently, so Lorelai counted that as an invitation. She sat on the bed beside Rory and picked up her brush, and began to smooth Rory's hair with it.  
  
"I wonder if my hair was this soft when I was your age," Lorelai mused. "I'd know but it was rather buried under stiff layers of hair spray."  
  
"I know," Rory stated matter-of-factly, smoothing an invisible line in her silk pajamas. "Grandmamma told me."  
  
"What else did they tell you?"  
  
Rory shifted uncomfortably on the bed. "Not much else. I never really asked them."  
  
Lorelai stifled a wince, but continued to attempt to bond. "What about your life?"  
  
Again Rory shrugged. "Nothing much to tell. I was first in my class back in England, and in New York. I'm planning on returning to England for college, though I'm undecided as to which one I'd like to attend."  
  
"So England was a favorite, huh?"  
  
"It was lovely," Rory agreed, although stiffly. "I spent most of the past five years or so there."  
  
"Where else did you go?"  
  
"I spent some summers in California…" Rory answered hesitantly. "At Dad's."  
  
  
  
"Christopher!" Lorelai was very close to screeching by the time her ex-boyfriend deemed the phone worthy enough to answer.  
  
"Lor?"  
  
"So glad you remember me, mother of your child," She bit off. "Speaking of, why didn't you tell me you've been in contact with her all these years?"  
  
"Hey now," Christopher began to defend himself the moment he say a crack in her longwinded rant. "This is what the first time we've talked since Rory was born? Besides she never talked to me about you, so how was I to know?"  
  
Lorelai sat down, less angry but more confused. "H-how did you do it though? All my mail was returned to me after Rory was two because they didn't leave a forwarding address!"  
  
"While they were still living in Hartford, right before I graduated, I sat down with Emily and Richard and had a long talk," Chris explained. "We agreed to keep in contact with each other, and notify each other of any address and phone number changes."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"I'm sorry Lorelai," he told her sincerely. "I assume that they were just terrified of you. That you really were just going to take Rory and run.  
  
Lorelai sighed, "It's just that she's so…quiet and studious. She reminds me of my father. You know, just put her in a suit with a brandy sniffer in hand."  
  
Christopher chuckled. "I'm sure we're buried in there somewhere."  
  
"Well at least she's not like us at that age…"  
  
  
  
Rory let out a sigh of relief as Tristan led her into the giant foyer of his house. "My goodness, it seems like forever since I could here myself echo."  
  
He arched an eyebrow as he led her up to his bedroom. "You never struck me as the echoer type."  
  
"I'm really not," She informed him. "I just abhor small houses. My grandparents rented this cottage in Scotland one summer, which Scotland is great, but the living in the cottage wasn't."  
  
"Edinburgh?"  
  
"Eigg, Isle of actually," Rory told him as she sat in the chaise on the left side of his room.  
  
Tristan pulled his desk chair over to beside the chaise and sat in it. "Ah, by the Isle of Skye. Never been."  
  
"Did you actually ask me over to talk about good vacation spots in Scotland?" She questioned teasingly.  
  
"Silly girl," Tristan replied, "I invited you over to catch you up at school."  
  
"Mmmm...kay," Rory said. "Let's see we just finished up the Romantics in English. Moved on to Boyle's Law in Chemistry, which, by the way, is when the volume goes up, pressure goes down and vise versa. What other classes do we have? Ah yes, geometry. We're on the Postulates explaining how to discern which triangles are congruent and why. For example there is angle-side-angle, but you cannot use angle-side-side. In History we have just passed the battle of Gettysburg and in creative structure we're finishing up our slab projects. The only other class I'm enrolled in presently is Computer Applications and we just finished data tables. By the bye, I learned how to do that in sixth grade." She took a breath. "So I'm assuming you invited me over here for less innocent reasons."  
  
Tristan licked his lips, leaning over her slightly. "You surprise me Lorelai Gilmore, I would have taken you more for the Mary type."  
  
"If I was the Mary type, Tristan DuGrey, I never would have taken you up on your offer to, uh, help me catch up on my classes," She pointed out before letting their lips meet.  
  
For some odd reason, it almost felt like her fate was forever sealed in that moment. 


	5. Chapter Four

1 Chapter Four  
  
  
  
If Rory had paid any attention what so ever to the sign outside, she would have been confused as to why she was walking into William's Hardware for a cup of coffee, but since she wasn't it seemed perfectly natural to see a diner inside the space.  
  
"Passing through or just moved?" Asked the young man behind the counter, who seemed to be her age.  
  
"Coffee." She ordered. "Moved. I think. I could have died and gone to hell, I'm not sure which yet."  
  
He smirked as he poured a cup of coffee for her. "I'd say you were Rory Gilmore but I'm afraid you're not hyper enough to be."  
  
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. "Hayden. How'd you know that? And I don't do hyper."  
  
"I'm Jess Mariano," Jess answered undaunted. "Luke, your stepfather, is my maternal uncle. I live with him and Lorelai."  
  
"And I haven't met you before because?"  
  
"You've been too busy pretending to study?" Jess ventured, and at her murderous look he conceded. "I stayed at the diner. Someone needed to look over the place incase Taylor decided to break in, which he does not view as illegal since he feels that he owns the town, and redecorate it more to give it some 'town spirit'."  
  
"Taylor?" Rory was still confused, which was normal enough since she had only had a few sips of coffee thus far.  
  
"Dorsey. He owns the apartment building down the street, the market," Jess listed off. "And I'm sure a bunch of other things we don't know about."  
  
"Sounds scary." Rory shook her head as she gulped down some more coffee. "Okay, my brain's comprehending now. I think I have it, everyone here is crazy."  
  
"Smart girl. You just returned here?"  
  
Rory nodded, "Yes. Just got dropped off in front of here. Lorelai gave me directions one of the first nights."  
  
"Shouldn't you call her Mother?"  
  
"Do you call yours that?" Rory countered.  
  
Jess shrugged. "Point taken."  
  
"This place is pretty deserted," Rory commented, looking around.  
  
Jess circled the counter, sitting on a stool beside Rory. "It's 5:15 in the morning."  
  
"Yes, but you are open."  
  
"I couldn't sleep, and I should be open for any late studiers coming in over twelve hours after they left to study," Jess replied.  
  
"You seem to keep implying that I wasn't studying all night," Rory noted.  
  
"Oh, I mean nothing by it," Jess assured her. "I've seen your room with all your books and books. I'm sure you are a Straight A girl, and that you learned a lot last night."  
  
"Immense knowledge gained," She agreed. "You sort of remind me of my study buddy. You should meet him."  
  
"Well Lorelai has asked me to drive you to any further study groups you may have, to ensure that you were safe."  
  
"In other words, to make sure that I come back home before dawn breaks?"  
  
Jess nodded. "I wouldn't say that she was overly worried by it, considering it was me she asked to drive you to and fro."  
  
"I called to say I'd be later that I thought."  
  
"And you were such a good girl for that too," Jess winked at her. "So much more to cover."  
  
"Shush your innuendos and pour me some more, coffee boy."  
  
"You know, now you're sort of reminding me of Lorelai," he warned her as he went to get the coffee pot for her.  
  
"I doubt it," she muttered.  
  
Any further conversation was impeded when the door sprang open. "Hello gorgeous," Was Miss Patty's exuberant greeting. "I need some of those delicious donuts your uncle has."  
  
Rory leaned closer to Jess and whispered. "Doesn't she know not to drink coffee before you go to the coffee place?"  
  
Jess chuckled as he began to put some donuts in a bag.  
  
"Oh my!" Miss Patty exclaimed, "You must be Lorelai's girl!"  
  
Rory plastered on a bright smile. "I am Rory Hayden, ma'am."  
  
"You must call me Miss Patty," She told the younger woman. "It won't do to call me anything else."  
  
"Miss Patty."  
  
"I had heard that Lorelai's girl was here," Miss Patty continued on while Jess put the bag of donuts on the counter, and sat back down, looking amused. "But then no one had seen hide nor hair of you yet!"  
  
"I go to Chilton," Rory said by way of explanation.  
  
"Ohhh…the prestigious school in Hartford! How wonderful," Miss Patty paused to take a breath. "Ah yes, now that I've met you, you must insist to someone in that magnificent family of yours to show you around town. Do you know how to dance?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Yes, I took lessons until I was fourteen."  
  
"That is great!"  
  
Jess cleared his throat, deciding to save his step-cousin from any more of Miss Patty's chatter. "Miss Patty?"  
  
"Oh, are you ready gorgeous?" She asked, picking up the bag and paying him. "Well, it was nice to meet you Rory."  
  
"You too, Miss Patty," Rory replied politely.  
  
The two teenagers watched the older woman leave. Jess swiveled around to look at Rory. "How did you manage not to get flustered by her?"  
  
Rory took a sip of her coffee before answering. "Why, I moved in the social circles of New York, and England. Some things just fail to surprise you after a long while. Besides, they had a whole course about how to deal with people in school."  
  
Jess just raised an eyebrow; Lorelai's daughter was definitely an interesting addition to Stars Hollow. 


	6. Chapter Five

1 Part Five  
  
  
  
"You know, Uncle Luke says all you have to do is take three left turns and you'll end up right back at the center of town," Jess told her as they stepped outside of Luke's Dinner, once Luke had arrived and taken over.  
  
"Wouldn't that be four?"  
  
Jess shrugged, "We don't have a large supply of logic here."  
  
Rory watched the matching mother and daughter pass them before replying. "I'm noticing that."  
  
"This is Doose's Market, if you care," He pointed to the building beside them. "I'm sure you don't."  
  
"You never know," Rory shrugged. "I could get hungry and there's nothing stocked in the fridge…"  
  
"That'll never happen with Luke and Lorelai around."  
  
"Good to know," Rory replied with a sigh. "I miss my car."  
  
"Where is it?" Jess asked as they crossed the street.  
  
"England."  
  
"Couldn't bring it?"  
  
"It doesn't drive on the 'right' side of the road," She shrugged. "I figured I'd save myself from accidents if I sold it in England."  
  
He raised an eyebrow, "Ah, so you actually are smart."  
  
"This surprises you?"  
  
"Anything that comes from Lorelai is questionable."  
  
"Ouch for her," Rory commented as they arrived in front of the antique shop.  
  
"This is the Kim's Antique Shoppe, I'm not sure if you want to go in. Very weird family."  
  
She shrugged, "There can be no harm in antiques. I use to go antique shopping every other week with my grandmother."  
  
"You've lived a scary life."  
  
Rory grinned at him as they continued walking. "I'm not sure I'm quite ready to meet the rest of the town just yet."  
  
"Understandable," They crossed the street again to arrive in front of Luke's. "That was our town."  
  
"Luke wasn't kidding," Rory said.  
  
"He's not really the kidding sort," Jess enlightened her. "Like, almost never. It's kind of funny since Lorelai is a kidding sort."  
  
"Good to know."  
  
"So what're you doing the rest of the day?" Jess asked her.  
  
"Oh, I think I'm going to rest," Rory answered. "You know, all that not sleeping and studying last night."  
  
He grinned, "Oh, I know."  
  
Rory stepped back, fully intending to head back home- home, what an odd word to use in this quirky town. Her mother's house, that was much better, but she stopped abruptly.  
  
"Jess?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I don't remember how to get back to the house."  
  
He burst out laughing, impairing him from leading her back home for another five minutes.  
  
  
  
-  
  
A/N: Short, no? Sorry, but the next scene and this scene do not go well together, so I decided to make the next one longer. Better? Yes, it all evens out. 


	7. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: Oh, um just the usual. Not owning Gilmore Girls, or any movies mentioned and unfortunately, neither do I own The Great Gatsby. The wonderfully talented F. Scott Fitzgerald owns the last one.

A/N: Ah, just to clear up a few things. First, it's really not a romance fiction. Yes, it does include an established relationship for Luke/Lorelai and Rory and Tristan are together but it's more of a building of a functional mother/daughter relationship between Rory and Lorelai under dysfunctional terms. Two, no it is not a Rory/Jess, I developed a friendship for them and that's as far as it's going to go. Three, yes, Tristan and Rory will probably stay together for the majority of the story, so in that respect it can be classified as a Trory. 

Part Six 

            "Oh, you have music!" Rory exclaimed in delight, stopping her exploration of Tristan's room at once.

            Tristan, who had been sitting on his bed, looked at her curiously and smirked. "Strange, isn't it? You could almost believe that I could afford to buy CDs."

            She only spared a second to glare at him before shuffling through his collection. "Wow, if I hadn't before, I would've slept with you solely for your music collection.

            "There's a new way of going about it, I'll lure girls into my bed with my impressive compact disc collection," Tristan mused out loud. "Wait until you see my DVD collection."

            "Do you have _Moulin Rouge_?" Rory asked him, abandoning her perusal of CDs. 

            "Yeah."

            "_American Beauty_?" He nodded. "_Running on Empty_?" Another affirmative nod, so she searched her mind for a movie she loved yet unlikely he had. "_The Princess Bride_?"

            "Surprisingly, yes."

            Rory jumped back onto the bed, and straddled his legs, while Tristan lay back down. "You know, Mr. DuGrey, I may have to keep you yet."

            Tristan laughed. "If I show you my coffee supply, are you going to propose?"

            Her eyes widened, "Don't tempt me, DuGrey."

            "You are the most delightfully odd person I've ever met."

            She leaned forward and kissed him, "Ah, yes. You are not the first to comment." Rory looked up at the clock above the bed and sighed. "Hell, my ride's here."

            "Mother?" 

            She shook her head, "No, step-cousin. Still think I should get dressed into my own clothes for him though."

            "What's he like?"

            Rory shrugged as she pulled on her Chilton uniformed and tossed Tristan his. "He's like you but thinner, darker and less charming."

            "Is that all?"

            "Well, he might be smarter than you. But I actually haven't been studying with you, so I'm not completely sure."

            He shot her a not-so-amused look before dressing. Rory grabbed her bag and headed out the door. 

            "What? I'm not good enough to meet the cousin?" Tristan half-teased her. 

            "You want to meet him?" She looked genuinely perplexed.

            Tristan rolled his eyes while he nodded his head. Rory Hayden could be the most confusing woman sometimes…

*

            "Hey Ror," Jess greeted her as her and Tristan descended down the stairs. "Let me guess, this is your Gatsby?"  
  


            Rory just rolled her eyes as they stood in front of Jess. "Tristan this is Jess, Jess this is Tristan."

            "Hey," Tristan said by way of greeting. "Though I'm sure more Tom than Gatsby."

            "How so?"

            "Well Gatsby was new money," Tristan pointed out. "And dirty money. All accumulated for the dream of a certain girl. Whereas Tom was old money, probably slightly dusted money, and really didn't give a damn about the girl as long as they stayed his."  
  


            "Possessive?"

            "No, I lay no claim whatsoever on his last trait."

            Jess turned to Rory and winked, "Ah, he'll do. He seems to have read at least part of the book."

            Tristan raised an eyebrow at her, "You never warned me that there was going to be a test."

            She smacked Jess in the shoulder, "Wasn't suppose to be. I didn't know he was going to be a dork like that."

            "Yes, well we can go discuss my coolness factor later," Jess told her. "Now lets get back before Lorelai remembers that she doesn't trust me and comes to pick you up herself."

            "Ugh. Parents," Rory groaned, she kissed Tristan on the cheek. "I'll see you later."

            "Bye Hayden," Tristan said to her, and then turned to Jess. "Nice to meet you, man."

            "You too," Jess nodded his head, put his arm around Rory's shoulder and led her out of the mansion.

            Rory frowned, it was odd, this feeling that she belonged here, with these people. 


	8. Chapter Seven

Part Seven 

          Rory woke up to quietness, which was unusual in her mother's house. So unusual she that she momentarily toyed with the idea that perhaps it had all been a dream and that she was actually in her house in Kent and her grandparents would be down stairs, with Grandmamma yelling at the staff and Grandpapa reading his newspaper. Unfortunately the size of her room as she looked around quickly dismissed that pleasant notion.

          She crept down the stairs, eyeing the house suspiciously. This was weird. Like creepy, weird. As weird as the town itself. 

          "Jess?" No answer. "Luke?" She was met with silence. "Mother?" Nothing. Hell, what were her siblings names again? "Ramsay?" 

          "Hullo Rory," She was greeted by the said imp running out of the kitchen.

          "Where is everyone?"

          "Jess and dad went to the diner to work," He answered matter of factly. "Mom's at the Inn."

          A moment later his sister, Keely, came in with a piece of paper in her hand and handed it to Rory. "She left this for you."

          Rory took and read it quickly. Her face paled. "No way in hell am I doing that."

          "Don't swear," admonish Ramsay.

          "Hell is not a swear word," Keely pointed out.

          "Who cares?" Rory announced. "I have to baby sit you two all day!"  
  


          "So?"

          "I grew up as an only child," She explained. "I know nothing about kids. Not one thing. I tend to stay away from them."

          "Are you accusing us of having jam hands?" Ramsay asked. "Because, Dad's made sure that there is no jam in the house."

          "What?" Was all that she could think of to say. 

          "Dad has a theory." Keely, clearly the more logical of the two, explained. "That no matter what kids will end up with jam on their hands. So he goes out of his way to ensure that there is no jam for us to get on our hands."  
  


          "I need coffee," Rory groaned, stomping into the kitchen. She stopped when she saw the empty coffee pot. "There is no coffee made in this house?"

          "Mom said she'd just pick one up at the diner," Ramsay filled in. 

          "But I don't know how to make coffee!"

          Keely and Ramsay gasped, because such a thing was unheard of in the Danes house.

          "But you're a Gilmore!" Cried Ramsay.

          "Mom's your mother!" Keely pointed out, okay maybe more logical but maybe not all together that smart.

          Rory crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. "I know that. But I use to have people to cook the coffee."  
  


          "Brew. You brew coffee. I don't think you cook it."

          She glared at her half-sister. "Whatever. Do either of you know how to _brew_ coffee?"

          They both shook their heads and Ramsay spoke up. "We're not allowed to touch…Brendan."

          "Brendan?"  
  


          Keely nodded. "Mom's Mr. Coffee. She fell in love with Brendan Fehr on _Roswell_ and named it after him."

          "You all belong in a nuthouse," she muttered under her breath. "Okay. I can do this. I just need to call someone."

          "You shouldn't call the diner," Ramsay warned. "It's busy this time of day."

          Rory took a deep breath to calm herself before grabbing the portable phone and dialing a number.

          "Tristan DuGrey."

          "Do you know how to brew coffee?"

          "Hayden?" Tristan sounded slightly confused. "It's seven in the morning and a Saturday."

          "Yes, I know and duh," Rory retorted. "Do. You. Know. How. To. Brew. Coffee?"

          "You're very cranky in the morning when you've been deprived of coffee," Tristan mused half-teasingly. "Now I just have to wonder if you're even more beautiful."

          She scowled. "Flattery will get you nowhere until I have coffee."

          He chuckled. "I don't know how to cook coffee. Raphael usually does it for me."

          Rory gritted her teeth. "Brew. You don't cook coffee- you brew it. God, what are you useful for?"

          "Sex and music."  
  


          "Both of which I could easily get from someone else. Anything else?"

          There was a pause on the other end. "Because I'll go ask Raphael how to co-brew coffee?"

          "Good Tristan," She told him. "I've trained you well."

          "Well it's either that or listen to a coffee-depraved woman. Neither rather appealing right now."

*

          Rory sat back in the couch, letting the aroma of the coffee waft up into her being. Ah yes, she'd have to thank Raphael next time she went to the DuGrey's. She had taken a few sips of the delicious drink when the phone rang.

          "Hello, Rory Hayden speaking," She answered.

          "Hey Rory Hayden," came the familiar voice.

          "Daddy!" She exclaimed, setting aside her coffee where it would stand forgotten. "I was wondering when you were going to call."

          "Well news travels sort of slow around here, and I thought I'd let you settle in at Mom's," Christopher replied. "How's Chilton?"

          "Like my last school but without the cute British accents," She informed him.

          Chris laughed, "And home life?"

          Rory shrugged, forgetting for a moment that he couldn't see her. "It's okay I guess. A little weird since the house is full of people that aren't servants."

          "You'll get use to it," he reminded her. "And if you ever need a break, you still have your room here to use during vacations."

          "Thanks Dad," She said, smiling softly. "I think I may take you up on that offer soon."  
  


          "So what're your plans for this Saturday?"   
  


          "Baby-sitting," Rory replied. "Apparently. I got up and there was this note left from Lorelai asking, telling me to look after my half-siblings."

          "Just remember they're like people. Just smaller."

"Don't get me started on the siblings part, I just figured out that you don't cook coffee."

          "You brew it," Christopher told her automatically. "Yes well, I have to go. But I'll call you next week?"

          "Sounds good," She agreed. "Love you Dad."

          "Love you too." This was followed by the dial tone. 

          Sighing, Rory hung up the phone and picked up her lukewarm coffee and took a sip.

          Maybe life here would be bearable, after all.


	9. Chapter Eight

Midnight State of Mind Chapter Eight 

_Disclaimer:_ I do not own _Gilmore Girls_, its settings nor its characters. I don't even own the title of the story, which belongs to my friend Rinny. Oh, unfortunately I am not affiliated with J.D. Salinger in anyway. Pity me.

_Thanks To: _Roxy. Without her, I just would have let the fic stay dead. 

*

            Rory looked at her watch for what had to be the hundredth time. A Saturday wasted at home. She didn't think that had happened since she was seven and sick with the Chicken Pox. The only consolation was that she could read, which was exactly what she was amusing herself with at the moment.

            After getting off the phone with both Tristan and her father, she had wandered back into her room and pulled out her Salinger collection. She started off with _The Catcher and The Rye_, considering that it was the only non-Glass related book he had. Her second book, the one she had just finished was _Raise the Roof Beams High Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction_. Now she was on story one of _Nine Stories_, the one called _A Perfect Day For Banana Fish_. Her favorite Glass-related story. 

            Now this is why when she didn't hear the door open and close when it did. 

            "Rory?" 

            Rory's head snapped up to find her mother there. 

            "Mother," she closed her book. "I wasn't sure when you'd get back."

            "Well here I am," Lorelai managed an awkward smile. "So were the kids okay for you?"  
  


            "They were once I found where you hid the coffins," Rory replied dryly, standing up. "After that they were as silence as a corpse."

            "Heh," Lorelai was pretty sure that was a joke. "Where are they really?"

            Her daughter shrugged, "Upstairs with a video."

            "What video?"

            "_Bob The Carpenter_," Rory blinked. "Something to that effect."

            "_The Builder_?"

            "Along those lines."

            "Apparently they are _never_ too old for that," Lorelai commented with a shake of her head. "Pity me."

            "Yeah, well," Rory fidgeted. "When does Jess get off of work?"  
  


            "From the diner?" Lorelai asked, frowning. "It's more of a whenever Luke no longer needs him kind of thing."

            Rory backed away from her mother and towards the door; "I'm going to go catch up with him then."

*

            Jess leaned against the brick wall of the pawnshop that also doubled as a wall for Stars Hollow's sole alleyway. He pulled a cigarette out of the front pocket of his jean jacket, light it, and then took a drag off of it. Once that ritual was completed, he turned to Rory.

            "Is there a reason you forced me out of the dinner?" Jess questioned, taking another drag before Rory took it from him.

            Rory took a drag off the cigarette before answering, "Were you really enjoying it that much?" 

            "I didn't think you smoked, Gilmore," Jess took it back from her.

            "Hayden," Rory corrected him, blowing a stray hair out of her face. "I don't. Well, only after high stress situations."

            "Oh," Jess said knowingly. "You babysat the kids. I forgot."  
  


            "Does Lorelai, like, do this a lot?" She asked, running a hand through her brown hair. "Just hoist the kids on some unsuspecting and sleeping person without first consulting them first?"

            He shrugged, "How else could she get a sitter? Ramsay and Keely- the kids from _hell_."

            "Literally," Rory mumbled. "I don't get it. I was perfectly well behaved as a child."  
  


            Jess's eyes looked her up, then down. "I see you are making up for it now."

            "Ha ha," Rory glared at him as she wrapped her arms across her chest. "I hate it here."

            "Only the certified insane like it," Jess told her. "It reminds them of the voices in there head."

            "I wish the voices would go tell them to go shoot themselves."

            "Create a ghost town?" Jess asked. "How New Bostonian."

            "Vermont?"

            "Heard about it?"

            "Read about it," Rory clarified. "Though if it's going to be a blizzard, I'd rather be in California with my father."

            "You have one?" Jess teased. 

            "What you see me as an immaculate conception child?" Rory paused. "I don't really see Lorelai as a Virgin Mary candidate."

            "Me either," Jess agreed. "It's just no one talks about him."

            "My mother seems to like to pretend he doesn't exist, but that's just the way I interpret it."

            Jess threw down the cigarette to the ground and snubbed it out with his foot. "So where to now, Rory? Off to see the boyfriend?"

            "Tristan's not my boyfriend," Rory reminded him. "He's just…"  
  


            "A companion?"

            "Something like that," Rory looked out of the opening of the alley. "And no, I'm not."

            He wrapped his arm around her shoulder loosely, "Then come, I know of a few things that'll really piss the town off."

            "Really?" Rory asked, intrigued. "And to think, no one will suspect me."

            Jess snorted, "Yeah, you're an angel, Hayden."

            She gave him an innocent smile, "You better believe it, Mariano."

            He might not, but if the rest of the town did…so much the better. 

**To Be Continued…**


End file.
